Interim govt pushed energy problem onto elected govt by cancelling solar projects, FSRU: BTMA president

The interim government pushed Bangladesh's energy problem onto the elected government by cancelling 37 solar power projects and an FSRU, Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) President Showkat Aziz Russell said today (30 August).

Russell said Bangladesh's energy crisis was foreseeable and reflected poor planning and a failure to secure long-term fuel supplies.

"When India was tracking deals for 25 years for their fuel at $4, we were sleeping. Our ministers were sleeping, our policymakers were sleeping," he said.

He made the remarks at a roundtable titled "Bangladesh's Power and Energy Challenge: Securing Reliable Infrastructure for Better Business Climate," organised by Policy Exchange Bangladesh and the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) at the MCCI Conference Hall in Gulshan, Dhaka, with support from the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Russell said Bangladesh had relied on spot purchases of gas instead of long-term contracts, leaving the country exposed to sharp increases in global energy prices.

He said the interim government cancelled 37 solar projects that could have contributed around 3,000MW to the national grid without requiring fuel.

"And then there was the third Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) project, which the interim government cancelled. They pushed the problem onto the newly elected government," he said.

He said the current government had inherited the crisis and expressed sympathy for its position, but stressed that it must now find a solution.

"I have all my sympathy for the government. They have inherited this problem. But we cannot stop here. We have to find a way forward, we have to find a solution," Russell said.

The BTMA president urged the government, business leaders and experts to formulate an interim energy policy to help industries survive the crisis, including assessing whether the roughly $5 billion in annual subsidies could be used differently to keep industries operational.

The discussion was moderated by Masrur Reaz, chairman and CEO of Policy Exchange Bangladesh, while the keynote presentation was delivered by Hassib Hasan, senior associate at Policy Exchange Bangladesh, based on findings from the Bangladesh Business Climate Index (BBX) 2024-25.

Mohammad Iqbal Chowdhury, director and CEO of Lafarge-Holcim, urged the government to prioritise existing investors rather than focusing on attracting new ones amid the energy crisis.

 Ijaz Hossain, chairman of ESTex Foundation, said the crisis had gone beyond a supply problem and become an economic issue.

Moynul Islam, president of the Bangladesh Ceramic Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said gas was a critical production input for the ceramic industry and warned that prolonged shortages were threatening production and investment.

Fazlul Houqe, administrator of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), said keeping existing industries operational should be the immediate priority.

"If I cannot survive today, I don't need to know what happens after 10 years," he said.

The BBX findings presented at the event showed that the Business Infrastructure score declined from 71.1 in 2023-24 to 68.8 in 2024-25, while 74.2% of respondents reported experiencing power outages.

The Policy Exchange presentation showed that daily gas demand was around 3,800mmcfd against effective supply of about 2,420mmcfd, leaving 36% of national demand unmet. Domestic gas production has also declined for nine consecutive years.

Bangladesh's dependence on imported primary energy has risen to 62.5% from 47.7% four years earlier, while nearly Tk35,000 crore in industrial investment remains stalled, involving 1,857 pending gas connections.

MCCI Secretary-General and CEO Farooq Ahmed delivered the closing remarks at the event.